Estonia

This was my first card from Estonia, which is in Europe, above Poland but across the water and below Finland.
I actually had to look it up on Google maps to see exactly where it was situated. Geography was never my strong point at school!

This card shows you a town in Estonia called Otepaa and also shows you a castle.

Sangaste Castle is a former Sangaste manor house in the village castle Sangaste area , most prominent building in the manor complex.

The building was designed by architect Otto Pius Hippius 1874. In he copied almost exactly a famous English Windsor Castle architecture. Construction lasted from 1879-1881 and was a master builder F. Magician.

This country looks so peaceful and pleasant. I think I would love to visit there someday.
They also had cute stamps to use in December and so these are very Christmassy. I like them.

Such a cool colour the purple, I like that colour for a stamp.

Holland

This next card I received shows a love church in a town called Culemborg

Barbarakerk or 'Barbara Church in English'

I love all the roundness to the buildings. Nothing is flat or square, so exciting in shape.

Christmas Time

As I joined Postcrossing in November it wasn't long before we hit the holiday period and so a few of the cards I received reflected this.


The first card I received was from Finland and showed a joyous winter house, it looked all fun and inviting...

It says "Happy New Year"

The other winter themed card I received was from Russia. It has something to do with a neighborhood east of the Kremlin. However Google translator was having difficulty in helping me today.

However the stamp that was on the card is so cute

I love the building and the whole winter feel to it.

USA

This card was my first fun card that I received.
One reason I joined Postcrossing was for my 2 sons to gain some knowledge of other countries.
We have a large map of the world on the wall and we are able to show them where postcards have travelled from, mainly because New Zealand is at the bottom of the world and everything else is so far away.

Besides having to find Waldo and Wenda, there was also a checklist of other things to find:

• A dragon with a scarf
• Henry VIII and his wives
• George Washington

It is fun receiving fun interactive cards as well as country cards.

No Space!

This is actually my latest postcard to arrive, but I just had to show the wonderful wording on the back.....
in fact more than that this is showcasing the lovely stamps because sadly after the stamps there wasn't much left!

I just love the fact that after the postage had been put on, the address label had been organised and the blue personal address label of the sender had been secured there was no space left for anything else! Such a shame postcards are just so small!

China

The postcrosser who sent this wrote about the dragon on the card....

This is a picture of the Chinese dragon, which is quite different from the conception of dragon in western culture. In China, it is a symbol of power, hapiness and something good but not evil.

I do like it when someone takes the time to explain the picture on the card if it is significant to that country.

Japan

This card shows you 4 views of Japan:
Top left = Shin-Kansen Railway and Mt Fuji
Bottom left = Maiko Girls, Kyoto
Top right = Kinkaku-Ji Temple, Kyoto
Bottom right = High Way in Capital, Tokyo Bay Area

I love the colour contrast of the pink flowers and Mt Fuji.
The temple looks so peaceful and inviting, I can imagine waking up there, hearing the birds singing and the sun shining.

I can dream!

The Beginning

I am not sure how I ever got into Postcrossing.
I do know it all started on Oct 17, 2011. 183 days ago according to the site!
That is when I discovered the site Postcrossing and entered the world of sending postcards to random strangers around the world and receiving postcards back from other total strangers.

Postcrossing - The Postcard Crossing Project
"send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world"

I sent my first postcard on Oct 17 to China. It took 17 days to get there and travelled 9,350kms

My first postcard from New Zealand

The first postcard I received back was on Nov 9, from Finland. It took 6 days to arrive and travelled 16,663kms

Joensuu Evangelical Lutheran Church

Since that first card I have sent 57 cards, 49 have been received and 8 are currently travelling to their destination.
I have received 48 cards to date.

I intend to use this blog to show the many wonderful postcards I receive from around the world and also the odd amazing stamp some of the countries have around the world.
I always try and use a decorative stamp on the postcards I send so I love receiving cards back with nice stamps too.

So stick around and discover the wonders of the world via postcard